Six months ago, I was luckily enough to stumble upon Gayle Forman’s If I Stay, which I spotlighted here. I devoured this book and it stayed with me long after I turned the last page. The words were poetic, the images vivid, and the music included became its own character. It was painful, romantic, and beautiful all rolled into one, tugging on every single emotion I had. I immediately pawned it off on my mom who had the same visceral reaction I did.
Then enter six long months of waiting for the sequel.
Here’s the jacket copy:
It’s been three years since the devastating accident … three years since Mia walked out of Adam’s life forever.
Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Julliard’s rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia’s home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future – and each other.
Told from Adam’s point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.
I had no doubt in my mind that I would love this sequel. I trusted Gayle as a storyteller, and I knew her prose would be heartbreaking as usual. But I never expected to devour it again in one quick sitting, NEEDING to know what happened between these two beautifully crafted, living and breathing characters.
I knew it would be great, but I didn’t think it could really compare to the haunting beauty of the first. How could it? The first dealt with tragedy, death, falling in love, and intense emotional relationships.
WHERE SHE WENT is told from Adam’s POV and Gayle hit it out of the ballpark. His voice is authentic and raw, and painfully realistic. As I traveled along with him, discovering what happened three years ago and how he handled every day since without her, I only fell for this boy harder. Fans of IF I STAY will remember how he brought Mia back from the brink of death before, and the vow he made if she returned to him. Now living with the regret of making such a vow and missing her, the music dreams he has achieved feel empty.
Adam’s story is just as emotional as its predecessor, the love just as powerful, and the music just as vital to the storytelling. After Mia left him, he shut himself away in agony only to reemerge write the breakthrough album for his band Shooting Star. The lyrics Gayle included at the beginning of each chapter told in present day added an entire new dimension and layer to the reading experience.
After turning the last page, not only did I want to run out and buy Collateral Damage, but I also wanted to learn how to play cello.
I’m hesitant to say that Mia and Adam’s story is wrapped up beautifully—only because I am afraid by saying that, by putting that truth out there, that Gayle will stop here. I love these characters and if anyone can find a way to create another tale for these two, despite their blissful reunion at the very end, it’s her.
If I STAY and now WHERE SHE WENT are both in my top five books of all time. And that’s pretty impressive.
